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Western Sahara
Western Sahara (aka The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) is a disputed region located in the Maghreb - also known as the Big Maghreb - specifically in the North African region, where Morocco controls much of it; while other countries consider it a colonial region that the United Nations is seeking to resolve, it's bordered to the north by the State of Morocco, Algeria to the east, Mauritania to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It's one of the least densely populated countries in the world, it consists mainly of the flat desert but has a population of over 500,000, 40% of whom live in Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara. he/she is one of the infamous countryhumans characters, there's not a lot of information about her/him. not a lot people have drawn him/her so we can't decide whether she/he is a "male" or "female" or both, but there are a limited number of drawings about him/her as "female" so we'll talk about him/her as so. Description Appearance "Western Sahara" doesn't have a predetermined appearance or even famous versions since there are only a few who draw her, but she has two versions but they're not famous, however, we still can benefit from them. In the first version, she wears a shirt striped in dark green and green with a wide belly pocket, and there's the "Algeria" flag armband on the right upper arm, she has a dark green hijab dotted in green on her head, also she puts black earbuds over the hijab, she wears very dark green pants, and black shoes. Talking about the second version, just like the first version she has a hijab on her head but it's light blue, she wears a long blue cloak up to her feet, and a desert shoe, in addition, in this version there are bandages on her neck, perhaps it's a sign of her suffering. Personality The point of the character is the same as the point of appearance. Her personality is unknown, but she may have the personality of a "Sahrawi woman", she's brave and willful, calm but nervous, patient in Ramadan, maybe she loves football, her position is consistent, she doesn't hesitate to defend her rights whatever the circumstances, she loves independence and detests subordination to any country. One of her advantages that distinguishes her that she's always trying to stay strong, smiles all the time, despite her depression due to her suffering and her deep fear that her difficult problem with her cousin "Morocco" will remain unresolved, she's totally a kind-hearted and compassionate, she loves to help, although she's unable to do so. Interests probably likes football, knitting, craft, making traditional carpets, traditional crockeries, etc, her interests may be similar to that of Algeria and Morocco at the same time. Flag Meaning the flag is unofficial since it's not recognized, it's used by the "Polisario Front", it's consists of three horizontal lines in colors respectively: black, white and green, triangle on the left side and a crescent and a star in the middle, both in red. The design of the flag is very similar to that of Palestine, where the Polisario Front's battle to liberate Western Sahara from Moroccan rule is thought to resemble the battle for the liberation of Palestine. The black symbolizes battles, the red symbolizes the blood of martyrs, the white symbolizes peace, the green symbolizes construction and development, while the star and crescent is an Islamic symbol. Other symbols Nicknames "Southern Provinces", the official name given by "Morocco". "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic", the shortcut word: "SADR", the unofficial name given by the "Polisario Front". Etymology History Early History It's known that the inhabitants of Western Sahara belong to the people of the Gitol, and depending on the sources reported in the Roman era, the region was inhabited by the people of the Gitol in addition to the presence of tribes inhabited by Amazighs; however, other sources confirm that the first inhabitants of Western Sahara maybe the people of the Bavarians, and later settled by the people of the Syrians, or perhaps the Bavarians settled in the region late and learned the Amazigh language, but merged with the indigenous people of the region to eventually become the result of many mergers belonging to the Arab tribe of Bani Hassan. The arrival of Islam in the region in the eighth century played a major role in the development of the Maghreb; especially in the commercial field, the development of the territory of Western Sahara and became one of the main caravan routes, especially those linking Marrakech and Timbuktu in Mali. In the 11th century, the Banu Maqal settled in Morocco (specifically in the Draa Valley, the Mallawi Valley, Tafilalet and Taourirt); Al-Aqsa then expanded in the region of Sousse and built palaces located in several Moroccan cities such as Taroudant, during the Marinid period, Bani Hassan rebelled against the state but were defeated by the sultan and fled abroad and were said to have inhabited dry rivers, before returning to war again, this time with Latmunah, causing the Berbers to leave for the Sahara, for nearly five centuries, due to a complex process of acculturation, mixing and homogeneity between some indigenous Berbers and mixed Arab tribes, a unique culture has been formed, especially in Morocco and Mauritania. Spanish colonization Spanish control of Western Sahara was intended to turn the region into a port for the slave trade, but in 1700 Spain changed its goal by becoming dependent on the region for economic activity and fishing rather than human trafficking, which was increasingly criminalized, after an agreement was reached between the European colonial powers at the Berlin Conference in 1884, a conclusion was reached that the division of spheres of influence in Africa was controlled by Spain over Western Sahara, which it developed as a Spanish colony, after 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, this area was administered by the Spanish Protectorate, as a result, Prime Minister Ahmed Belbachir Haskouri and the Secretary-General of the Spanish-Moroccan Government worked with the Spanish to select the governors in the region, indeed, this happened as the Lords received prominent and high positions, headed by the Ma'in al-'Aynain family, which had ruled the region for decades, along with a high-ranking Spanish leader who facilitated the rule of the region. During the annual celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, the Lords were pushed to show loyalty to the Kingdom of Morocco so that they wouldn't attack them or expel them from the region. With the passage of time, Spanish colonial rule began to fade with a general wave of popular anger after World War II, especially in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, which led the colonial forces to leave these countries and give them independence from them, but the independence of the southern Moroccan regions from Spain was very slow and Due to internal, political and social pressures, Francisco Franco decided to withdraw from these areas provided that a Spanish base was built there, there was a global trend towards complete decolonization, which made Spain accelerate the process of withdrawal from all the territories it had occupied before, in 1974-75 the government made promises to hold a referendum for the independence of Western Sahara. At the same time, the conflict was intensified between Morocco and Mauritania, who are claiming ownership of the territory, especially Morocco, which claimed that the European colonial powers stole some of its territory and granted it upon independence to other countries, and later intervened Algeria, which also borders with the territory and questioned Morocco's demands then supported the independence of that region; however, Morocco once again claimed that some of the Algerian provinces, especially Tindouf and Bashar, belonged to him, causing him to argue with his neighbor, the controversy lasted long before the United Nations intervened on the line to reach a final solution. It used the Algerian government led by Houari Boumedienem in 1975, an agreement was reached with the help of the Polisario Front, which opposed all Moroccan and Mauritanian demands and demanded the independence of Western Sahara. The United Nations tried to settle disputes by sending multiple missions in late 1975, it also used the International Court of Justice and eventually recognized that Western Sahara had historical ties with Morocco and Mauritania, Algeria has nothing to do with this, but this is not enough to prove the sovereignty of any country over that territory, and that Spanish colonialism shuffled the leaves, eventually, a decision was issued granting the residents the right to self-determination. On November 6, 1975, Morocco began the Green March campaign, which reached Western Sahara; it was very close to the town of Tarfaya in southern Morocco, the marchers waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross the border in a peaceful march, a few days before 31 October, Moroccan forces invaded and penetrated Western Sahara from the north. Independence demands In the final days of Franco's reign and after the Moroccan Green March, the Spanish government was forced to sign the Madrid Agreement (also called the Tripartite Agreement) with Morocco and Mauritania and began to transfer land to its owners from November 14, 1975, when it decided to leave the ownership of Western Sahara jointly between Morocco and its southern neighbor Mauritania; within three months, the remaining areas were renamed. Moroccan-Mauritanian control of Western Sahara was met with fierce resistance by the "Polisario Front", which was supported by Algeria then the guerrilla war that lasted until 1979, Mauritania withdrew due to pressure from the "Polisario", including the latter's bombing of the capital region and other economic targets, at the same time, Morocco was gradually extending its control over the rest of the territory, provoking armed gangs who tried to target the sand wall, which Morocco built in order to exclude guerrilla fighters from its borders, the fighting ceased in 1991 under the supervision of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) under conditions for a mutually appropriate settlement plan. Procrastination in the referendum on the settlement plan The referendum, which was scheduled in 1992, expected local people to be given the choice between independence or submission to Morocco's sovereignty but soon stopped, then there was an attempt in 1997 by Houston to revive the referendum proposal, but this did not work, as of 2010, several negotiations were held under many conditions but did not result in any solution, since 2000, the authorities in Morocco consider any referendum to be null and void, accepted because of the lack of identification of the participants in that referendum and whether they are actually citizens living in the south or belonging to the "Polisario", which Morocco considers a taboo, while at the same time the "Polisario" still insists on holding the referendum in order to determine the final fate of the region, otherwise there will be no solution the problem has existed for a while. Both sides traded accusations and blamed each other for stalling the referendum, the "Polisario" insisted on allowing citizens registered in the Spanish census of 1974 to vote, while Morocco wanted to allow all residents of the south to vote, other regions to live in the Sahara in return for attractive financial compensation in order to vote for the sovereignty of Morocco over those territories, the efforts of the United Nations envoys to find common ground for both parties had failed; by 1999, the United Nations had identified some 85,000 voters, half of them living in Moroccan-controlled areas, and the other half in Tindouf refugee camps, Mauritania and elsewhere this list of voters was accepted by the "Polisario Front" as it did with the previous list provided by the United Nations (both of which were based on the Spanish census of 1974), but Morocco rejected them, stressing that the organization excluded a large number of citizens living there, insisting that they should be included. The Baker Plan The Secretary-General's Personal Envoy James Baker visited all the parties to the conflict on the Western Sahara issue and then signed a famous agreement known as the Baker Plan (after the envoy's name), the plan was discussed by the UN Security Council in 2000, "Western Sahara" was deemed a de facto autonomous region, but this didn't mean its ownership of the "Polisario", but the referendum that was expected to take place in five years would determine the fate of the region and the fate of the people, however, this did not happen after Morocco demanded that every person in the region should be included in the electoral lists regardless of his hometown. The referendum was rejected by both sides, and although the rejection was initially Moroccan, the "Polisario" soon followed the Kingdom's approach and decided to reject the referendum as well, according to Baker's plan, tens of thousands of Saharan residents are Moroccan immigrants and citizens annexed by Morocco to that region, - they're seen by the "Polisario" as settlers, while Morocco considers them legitimate residents-, the Baker project gave them the right to vote in the referendum, but the Front rejected the offer. The ballot was aimed at making the Sahrawi people decide their fate in their own hands, even if they voted for autonomy, the authorities in Morocco couldn't allow it, in addition, Morocco has repeatedly stressed that it won't withdraw its army from the region and will remain in control of all security issues, whether independence occurs or the territory officially joined the queen, it should be noted that in 2002 King Mohammed VI of Morocco stated that the idea of the referendum was "out of date" and "unenforceable", this led to strong reactions from the "Polisario Front", which accused the Kingdom of occupying that area and not leaving the self-determination of its people. In 2003, a new version of the official plan (the Baker Plan) was proposed with some additions and amendments; however, the Moroccan authorities again rejected it, stressing that the amendments to the draft resolution curtail their powers, the revised plan provided more details about the referendum process in order to make it more difficult in case of wanting to stall or boycott. The 2000 decade Baker resigned from his post at the United Nations in 2004, his resignation came after several months of failed attempts to co-opt Morocco into formal negotiations over his plan but was rejected by the kingdom's authorities. Instead, it was proposed to appoint an advisory body called the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) to consider the issue of autonomy in Western Sahara, Mohamed Hassan's father initially supported the idea of a referendum in principle, but his support began to diminish gradually after the Polisario movement also moved and signed several contracts with the United Nations in 1991 and 1997; however, Morocco showed little interest in the referendum. The United Nations moved to find an alternative solution after the collapse of Baker's second plan, especially after renewed fighting and breach of the ceasefire agreement, in 2005, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan published a report confirming increased military activity on the part of the Polisario Front, which he accused of several violations, especially in terms of a ceasefire, and Morocco to increase military fortifications and raise the level of alert to a large level. Morocco and Algeria have repeatedly tried through bilateral negotiations to reach a solution, but this has not worked, especially since the Kingdom accuses Algeria of supporting the "Polisario Front" and considers it a claw of the Algerian army, while Algeria often denies these charges and stresses that Morocco, in turn, received explicit support from Before both France and the United States intended to control those territories, negotiations by the "two neighbors" would define the borders exactly and would grant Western Sahara the right to autonomy or sovereignty under Moroccan rule, the Algerian government has consistently rejected what the kingdom, which has been at loggerheads with its Algerian neighbor, claims to have done nothing to do and has no right to negotiate on behalf of the "Polisario Front". Demonstrations and riots in 2005 by supporters of independence broke out in several areas of Morocco, particularly in the town of Asa, several Sahrawi activists have been imprisoned without trial, particularly those belonging to the "Polisario Front", these demonstrations have been called the “Independence Uprising”. Demonstrations and protests continue to occur sporadically within Morocco's cities (especially southern ones), although the kingdom announced in February 2006 that it was considering a limited autonomy plan for the territory but still openly and openly refused to hold the referendum on independence. The "Polisario Front" has intermittently threatened to resume fighting, noting that Morocco rejected the referendum and violated the ceasefire, but most observers believe that the possibility of armed conflict over the region is out of the question, especially as the Polisario can only move by getting the green light from Algeria, which does not want Least in the current period _ in the annexation of the Sahrawis. In April 2007, the Government of Morocco proposed that Western Sahara become an autonomous entity through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), which should govern the territory; the draft was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. The 2010 decade In October 2010, the "Ikdim Yazik" camp was set up near Laayoune to protest against Sahrawi IDPs because of their difficult living conditions, Moroccan security forces intervened and stormed the camp in the early hours of the morning and then used helicopters and water cannons to force people to leave those camps in a blatant attack on human rights; the "Polisario Front" moved after the incident, confirmed by its spokesperson that Moroccan security forces had killed a group of demonstrators in the camp, a claim denied by Morocco. The incident was known as the dismantling of the "Ekdem Yazik" camp; it resulted in public outrage from the Sahrawis who took to the streets of Laayoune, threw stones at police, set fire to tires and sent them directly to a group of buildings, including a television station destroyed by the flames, Moroccan police officials said that five security personnel were killed during the unrest. On November 15, 2010, the Moroccan government accused the Algerian intelligence services of funding the "Ekdim Yazik" camp with the aim of destabilizing the region, the Spanish press accused the authorities in Morocco of waging a campaign of misinformation against the Sahrawis after it banned all foreign journalists from entering the region and expelled others while preventing the rest from traveling, the protest coincided with a new round of negotiations at the United Nations. In 2016, the EU announced that "Western Sahara is not part of Moroccan territory." In March 2016, Morocco expelled more than 70 UN or mission workers because of strained relations after Ban told a conference that Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara as an "occupation of a sovereign state." Organizations and Affiliations Politics Government The sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara between Morocco, the "Polisario Front" and its legal status remains unresolved, the United Nations considers the region to be non-self-governing. Morocco is formally administered by a bicameral parliament, and the Moroccan parliament controls decisions in the framework of constitutional monarchy, the Moroccan parliament has the power to appoint the government and dissolve the parliament, Morocco has many provinces, which it considers an integral part of the Kingdom, the Moroccan government strongly supports the Sahara region and is trying to control it by reducing fuel consumption and subsidies if Morocco's sovereignty is rejected. The "SADR" has a government in exile and the republic operates on a one-party parliamentary and presidential system, but according to the constitution this will change to a multi-party system when independence is achieved, the Republic considers Laayoune its capital and aspires to control it or gain independence from Morocco. Diplomacy It has no diplomacy, given the situation Geography Western Sahara is located in North Africa, it overlooks the North Atlantic Ocean and is bordered vertically by Mauritania and Morocco, horizontally it's limited to Algeria and the sea. Western Sahara is one of the aridest and harsh areas on the planet, stretching along the coast and then rising especially in the north, it also has small mountains that can sometimes reach 600 meters (2,000 feet) on the eastern side in particular. The region may be in danger of flooding in the spring, but it does not “suffer” from constant currents, sometimes it's cold off the coast, resulting in heavy fog and dew, the region has a high temperature, especially in the summer, usually reaching between 43-45 ° C (109–113 ° F) in July, while winter is slightly lower but remains high compared to other regions, usually the coldest temperature is not less than 25 to 30 ° C (77 to 86 ° F), but the northern part of the region has a fairly low temperature and may sometimes reach less than 0 ° C (32 ° F) at night, especially at night, December and January snowfall is rare. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The "SADR" is an Arab state with limited recognition and a former colony of Spain, it's located in West Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the east, Mauritania to the south and the Atlantic to the west, the "Polisario Front" declared the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Republic on February 27, 1976 and formed the first Sahrawi government headed by Mohamed El Amine Ahmed on March 6, 1976 and included a number of field ministries that were quick to organize and complete the organizational and administrative structures, the "Polisario" controls 20% to 25% of the disputed territory, the Sahrawi government calls these areas "liberated zones" or "free zones", the remaining disputed area of the Sahara is run by the Moroccan government and is called the "Southern Territories", the Sahrawi government considers the Moroccan-ruled territory an occupied territory, the city of "Laayoune" is the capital of the Sahrawi republic but the Sahrawi government moved the interim capital from "Bir Lahlou" to "Tifariti" in 2008. Conflict with Morocco Much of Western Sahara is under Moroccan rule, where the "Polisario Front" demands that the international community recognize its sovereignty over Western Sahara, after an armed conflict with the "Maghreb Front", the two sides resorted to dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations. The United Nations has tried to organize a referendum on self-determination since 1991 under the cover of "MINURSO"; a dispute between Morocco and the "Polisario" over how to implement the referendum and who is eligible to vote (identification) has led to a long delay in the referendum, and mutual accusations have been made, with the resettlement of individuals in the Sahara region and the Tindouf camps to influence the vote, these problems led Morocco to consider the referendum option difficult to implement and proposed autonomy as a viable compromise solution to the conflict and received widespread international acclaim, but the Polisario refused for fear of reprisals, Moroccan army and tried to filter the top faction large for its expertise. The "Polisario" maintains relations with many countries, especially sub-Saharan African countries, as well as its full membership in the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which prompted Morocco to withdraw from it, some argue that this is due to the confidence of some African countries in Algeria or its position among the oil-rich countries, the United Nations and the Arab League. According to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, published in a 2006 report, no UN member country recognizes Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. Some see the conflict as an extension of the border war between Algeria and Morocco. Declaration of independence and establishment of the Republic The Interim Sahrawi National Council announced on behalf of the Sahrawi Arab people the establishment of an independent, sovereign nation-state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on February 27, 1976, among the states of the declaration: “… The Sahrawi Arab people, reminding the peoples of the world that they have proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in General Assembly resolution 1514 at its 15th session, which states: (The peoples of the world are resolved to reaffirm Recognizing the fundamental human rights, dignity, and worth of the human person, equal rights for men and women and the rights of nations large and small, promoting social advancement and raising the standard of life in larger freedom), for the high world peace. Declares to the whole world, based on free popular will, based on the pillars of democratic choice, the establishment of a free, independent state with a sovereign, national, democratic and unitary Arab governance, an Islamic faith, a progressive approach, called the "SADR". ” Some states that have recognized or withdrawn their recognition of the Sahrawi Republic . Organizations and Affiliations *African Union Politics Government It's subject to the system of "One-party semi-presidential republic", its president is "Ibrahim Ghali", it's Prime Minister is "Abdelkader Taleb Omar", and its legislative authority is the "National Council of the Sahara". Diplomacy The Sahrawi Republic maintains diplomatic relations with 40 countries it recognizes and is a full member of the "African Union". Geography The "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" is located in Northwest Africa, on the Atlantic coast, bordered by Morocco to the north and Algeria and Mauritania to the east. the "SADR" is the direct interface of the Canary Islands and has a length of 2045 km, Algiers is 45 km away. Relationships Family * Spain — mother * Algeria — cousin * Angola — cousin * Benin — cousin * Bolivia — brother/sister * Burkina Faso — cousin * Cameroon — cousin * Cape Verde — nephew * Central Africa Republic — nephew/niece * Chad — cousin * Comoros — cousin * Equatorial Guinea — brother/sister * Guinea — cousin * Guinea-Bissau — cousin * Haiti — cousin * Ivory Coast — cousin * Lebanon — cousin * Madagascar — cousin * Mali — cousin * Mauricio — cousin * Mauritania — cousin * Morocco — cousin * Mozambique — cousin * Niger — cousin * Republic of the Congo — nephew/niece * Senegal — cousin * Seychelles — cousin * Togo — cousin * Tunisia — cousin * Vanuatu — nephew/niece Friends * Algeria * Mauritania * Palestine * Venezuela * Iran * Syria * Russia Neutral * Tunisia * Spain Enemies * France * Morocco * Israel * Saudi Arabia * South Sudan * United States * European Union * NATO Opinions Algeria Mauritania Palestine Venezuela Iran Syria Russia Tunisia Spain France Morocco Israel Saudi Arabia South Sudan]] United States of America Trivia References Category:Disputed Category:Africa Category:Islamic Countries Category:The Sahara Countries Category:Arab-Berber Countries Category:Republics Category:Latin countries Category:Hispanics Category:Characters Category:Everything